Minister testifies in son's murder trial

WINDHOEK FRED GOEIEMAN

The Minister of Safety and Security, Immanuel Ngatjizeko, is still struggling to understand what happened when his son murdered his mother.
He testified yesterday in the High Court in Windhoek during the pre-sentencing hearing of his son Natangwe Ipinge Ngatjizeko, who has been convicted of killing of his mother, Fenny Ipinge, in December 2006.
He has done what he has done but maybe the law must take its course, the minister said.
Ipinge was stabbed 27 times with a knife in her house in Katutura between December 17 and 18, 2006. Ngatjizeko Junior also poured boiling water onto his mother and stole money from her house.
The late Ipinge was a retired employee of State House, where she served as a special aide to former First Lady Kovambo Nujoma for 12 years.
Ngatjizeko yesterday testified that he enrolled Natangwe at the Martin Luther High School and after completing Grade 10 he enrolled him at the Concordia College where he was staying in the hostel to give him enough time to study.
After school he enrolled his son at the University of Namibia where in the third year his mother got a scholarship for him to study in the Czech Republic. When the minister was on an official trip to that country he gathered from the Namibian students studying there that his son had absconded from school and was moving around with youngsters from East and West Africa.
The Czech authorities later deported him to Namibia. Ngatjizeko said his son did not give him a sufficient explanation for his deportation but told him that he was a Rastafarian and that smoking dagga was acceptable in that faith.
He testified that as far as he knows Ipinge had a special place for Natangwe in her heart. He was a very obedient boy at home. He would be doing all the household chores, he said. According to him it was through Ipinge's efforts that Natangwe was able to go to Czech Republic. I thought he also had a special place for her, he remarked.
Ngatjizeko further said his son was a very intelligent boy and he thought his future should not be wasted and enrolled him at the Polytechnic of Namibia but there he only lasted for a month or two. His mother was concerned about the company he was keeping. She suspected they either used alcohol or drugs and she looked at rehabilitating him or even send him for military training in the NDF to get disciplined. We consulted him and he opted for military training, the minister said, and added that his son later got expelled from the NDF.
He said he is struggling to find any motive for the murder. The only thing I can think about is his obsession with alcohol.
According to Ngatjizeko, his son found himself in Zimbabwe at some stage, where he was arrested and deported. Later he was in South Africa, where the Namibian ambassador informed the minister that his son was going to be sent back to Namibia by the South African police.
The case continues before Judge Nate Ndauendapo. The state prosecutor is Constance Moyo while attorney Jan Wessels appears on behalf of Ngatjizeko.